Hoisting apparatus



May 25, 1965 G. R. WHITE HOISTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 19. 1960 FIG FIG. 2

TIE lfirliiragliii-l11 mvzmon Gerome R. White ATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed Oct. 19. 1960 nfl/V/A Ill/fill! II I I II I e h Rh MR m 0 r e G llml ll I |I| H 2 Z t ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,135,265 HGHSTING APPARATUS Gerome R. White, W. Sheflieid Ava, Englewood, NJ. Filed Oct. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 63,650 1 Claim. (Cl. 189-12) This invention relates to hoisting apparatus or derrick, and more particularly to a derrick employed in erecting a building or similar structure and provided with means for raising the derrick in stepwise progression as the height of the building or other structure under construction increases.

Derricks are commonly employed in the construction of multi-story buildings. The mast of the derrick must be raised from one floor level to the next as the construction of the building progresses, and a number of schemes have been devised for accomplishing this result. One of the most widely used of these schemes involves hoisting the mast of the derrick from a lower level to the level of the floor most recently completed, and mounting the derrick on this recently completed floor with an appropriate base structure, guy wires, etc. However, this scheme can lead to complications especially in the case where the base of the derrick mast must be mounted on a recently laid concrete floor which has not as yet reached its maximum strength.

I have now devised a new hoisting apparatus that is independent of the building or other structure under construction in connection with which it is being employed and that can be vertically extended or raised at the will of the user of the hoisting apparatus in order to raise the apparatus in step by step progression as the height of the building under construction increases. Broadly, my new hoisting apparatus comprises a derrick structure mounted on a vertically extendible tower structure. The derrick structure comprises a vertically disposed derrick mast, a derrick boom one end of which is hingeably mounted on or adjacent to the mast intermediate the upper and lower ends of the mast, means extending between the upper end of the mast and the free end of the boom for supporting the boom, and advantageously a boom counterweight. The tower structure comprises a vertically disposed tower pintle member in the upper end of which is received the lower portion of the vertically disposed derrick mast, hinge means secured to the lower end of the tower pintle member, a tower extension member hingeably connected to the lower end of the tower pintle member by the aforementioned hinge means, and elevator means adapted to raise the tower pintle member and the derrick structure mounted thereon a distance sufiicient to allow the tower extension member hingeably connected to the lower end of the tower pintle member to swing in an arcuate path from an approximately horizontal position to a position in vertical alignment with the tower pintle member. Additional tower extension members are also provided each of which is adapted to be hingeably connected to the lowermost of the tower extension members that are in vertical alignment with the tower pintle member so that the tower structure and the derrick mounted thereon can be raised in step by step progression by the successive addition of tower extension members to the lower end of the tower structure.

My new hoisting apparatus will be better understood from the following description thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an advantageous embodiment of my new hoisting apparatus showing the general arrangement of the various components thereof,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of one of the tower extension members of the hoisting apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the lower portion of the hoisting apparatus preparatory to adding a new tower extension member thereto,

FIG. 4 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 3 showing the manner in which the new tower extension member is swung into place in vertical alignment with the remainder of the tower structure, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view partially broken away of the juncture between the vertical frame members or legs of adjacent tower extension members showing an advantageous form of hinge means and bolt means for securing the tower extension members together.

As will be seen best in FIG. 1 of the drawing, my new hoisting apparatus comprises broadly a derrick structure 10 mounted on the upper end of a vertically extendible tower structure 11. The derrick structure comprises essentially a substantially vertically disposed derrick mast 12, la derrick boom 13 one end of which is hingeably mounted on or adjacent to the mast intermediate the upper and lower ends of the mast, and support means 14 extending between the upper end of the mast 12 and the free end of the boom 13 for supporting that end of the boom. The derrick structure is also advantageously provided with a counterweight 15 disposed on one side of the derrick mast 12 approximately opposite the derrick boom 13. A hoist or winch means (not shown) is also advantageously provided in order to raise and lower the derrick hook 16 and to raise and lower the free end of the derrick boom 13. Moreover, the vertically extendible tower structure 11 comprises a tower pintle member 20 adapted to receive the lower portion of the derrick mast 12, at least one tower extension member 21 one of which is hingeably connected to the lower end of the tower pintle member 20, elevator means 22 adapted to raise the tower structure and the derrick structure mounted thereon a distance at least sufficient to allow the hinged tower extension member 21 to swing in an arcuate path from an approximately horizontal position to a position in vertical alignment with the tower structure, and a platform or base structure 24 adapted to support the tower structure 11 and the derrick structure 10 mounted thereon.

In the embodiment of my new hoisting apparatus shown in the drawing the tower pintle member 20 comprises a rectilinear open framework formed from four vertical corner posts or legs 26 connected together by appropriately positioned diagonal and/or horizontal braces 27 as indicated schematically in FIG. 1 of the drawing. As the tower pintle member 20 is adapted to receive and support the lower portion of the derrick mast 12 the pintle member is advantageously provided with a vertical thrust or weight-bearing member 28 on which the lower end of the derrick mast rests and to which it is rigidly or rotatably secured. The derrick structure 10 is advantageously ro tatably mounted on the tower structure 11 to permit rotation of the derrick when it is in use, and in such case the upper end of the tower pintle member 20 is provided with a suitable bearing member 29 in which the derrick mast 12 is journalled. In addition, the lower end of the tower pintle member 20 is provided with hinge means by which the adjacent tower extension member 21 is hingeably connected to the tower pintle member. As shown in the drawings the hinge means advantageously comprises a first or upper hinge part 39 welded or otherwise secured to vertical legs on one side of the tower pintle member, a second or lower hinge part 31 being secured to the upper end of the tower extension member 21 positioned directly beneath the tower pintle member.

Each of the tower extension members 21 of the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing comprises a rectilinear framework formed from four corner posts or legs 33 formed from angle iron or the like and held rigidly in position by appropriately positioned diagonal and/or horizontal braces 34 such as those shown best in FIG. 2

of the drawing. The upper end of each tower extension member 21 is provided with lower hinge part or parts 31 welded or otherwise secured to one side of the tower extension member, .and the lower end of the tower extension member is similarly provided with upper hinge partorparts 30 which are secured to the tower extension member as indicated in FIG. 2.

In the embodiment shown the elevator means 22 for raising and lowering the tower structure and the derrick mounted thereon comprises an open frame structure formed from four vertical corner posts or legs'which are connected by horizontal and/ or diagonal members 37 and which are mounted on the platform 24. The lower portion of the tower structure 11 is received within the framework of the elevator structure 22 and is adapted to move vertically up and down Within the elevator framework. Motor driven winch means 38 are advantageously provided for raising and lowering the tower structure for example by means of the cable and pulley arrangement 39 shown in the drawing. One or more brace'means 40'are also advantageously provided in order to help maintain the elevator structure 22 firmly in its vertically disposed operating position. 1

When the hoisting apparatus is assembled at a building or construction site and is in normal operation the tower structure 11 with the derrick structure mounted thereon rests on a base member 41 which, in turn, is mounted on the platform 24. When the height of the building or other structure under construction has increased to the point that it is necessary to raise the derrick to the next floor or construction level, the tower structure with the derrick mounted thereon is raised by the winch means 38 (or an equivalent tower elevating means) a distance sufficientto permit a horizontally disposed tower extension member 21 to be hingeably connected to the bottom of the tower structure by means of the hinge parts 34) and 31. When the tower structure has been raised to this extent, as shown in FIG. 3, the aforementioned horizontally disposed tower extension member 21 is moved to the position indicated by the dotted lines and theupper. and lower hinge members 30 and 31 are connected by means of a hinge pin 42 or the like. The tower structure is then raised by the winch means 38 a distance sufiicient to allow the tower extension member 21 now hingeably connected to the lower end of the tower structure to swing in an arcuate path from its horizontal position to a vertical position directly below and in alignment with the vertically disposed tower structure as shown in FIG. 4. The tower structure (which now includes the newly added lowermost tower extension member 21) is then lowered slightly so that it rests once again on the base member 41 as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

The vertical thrust or weight of the tower structure and derrick is borne by thevertical corner posts of the various vertically disposed tower members that comprise the tower structure. Accordingly, in order to insure that the various tower members remain in vertical alignment and to prevent the tower from buckling it is advisable to provide means for maintaining the vertical legs of the various tower members in alignment such as the bolt shown in FIG. 5 of the drawing.

From the foregoing description of my new hoisting apparatus it is evident that the hoisting apparatus is entirely self-supporting in that none of the vertical thrust or weight of the apparatus is borne by the building or other structure being erected. Moreover, the hoisting apparatus can be positioned and vertically extended in a relatively confined space such as, for example, in an elevator shaft of a building under construction. In addition, the novel structural features of my new apparatus provide a simple, efiicient and reliable means for raising and lowering the derrick structure without recourse to elaborate auxiliary machinery. Thus, my new hoisting apparatus constitutes an important contribution to the art to which it relates.

I claim:

A self-erecting tower of variable height comprising a vertically disposed tower pintle member, a hinge means secured to the lower end of one side of said pintle member having a hinge axis horizontally disposed, a unitary tower extension member having at least one corresponding hinge means disposed at one end on one side of said tower extension and removably and pivotally connected to the corresponding hinge means of said pintle member, and elevator means adapted to raise the tower pintle member a distance suflicient to allow the tower extension member hingeably connected to the pintle member to swing by its own weight in an arcuate path from an approximately horizontal position to a substantially vertical position in vertical alignment with the tower pintle member and further adapted to lower said tower pintle member onto and rigidly connect said pintle member to said vertically positioned tower extension member, said unitary tower extension member being adapted by itself to support the tower pintle member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,857,994 10/58 Sheard 189-12 2,863,531 12/58 Campbell 18912 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,156,563 12/57 France. 1,243,896 9/60 France.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner. KA R L J. ALBRECHT, Examiner. 

